The Nerd And The Jerk
by Rac4hel414
Summary: Troy Bolton is East High's basketball captain. Gabriella Montez is the captain of East High's Scholastic Decathlon team. They hate each other. Or do they? TxG. Oneshot.


**A/N: AHHHH! Who's still alive? Moi! I know. It's been forever. And I'm sorry. But uni is insane. I passed my first year (PARTY!) But now it gets serious. The grades of this year counts towards the overall degree mark. In other news, I've had more poetry published. I know. It's still insane. But very exciting. I have a new tumblr (forever a dreamer .com) and a new twitter ( Rachel_Glass_25) it'd be amazing if you dropped by.**

**So what's up? Tell me what's been happening with you guys?**

**Anyway, I've got some ideas mulling around in my head. Some of them, I think are more set for oneshots. Others are for full length stories. As my time is kind of limited, I don't suppose there's anyone who would be willing to co-write? If so, drop me a PM and we'll see if we can work anything out? I hope someone out there wants to because this idea has been driving me insane.**

**So, this story...I REALLY wanted to write a oneshot and was mulling around with a few ideas and although this isn't how I wanted it to be when I set out to write it, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It was kind of inspired by a few episodes of 'Sonny With A Chance'.**

**I know you barely hear from me anymore and I'm sooooooo sorry. But I hope this makes up for it :)**

**FYI, the part towards the end with the song 'All About You', is a song by my favourite band, McFly (in fact, I'm going to one of their concert in August EEK!) and the situation is inspired by Tom Fletcher's (lead singer/guitarist) wedding speech. He uploaded it onto youtube. Check it out!**

* * *

The Nerd and the Jock

"I can't wait for our date tonight."

I couldn't help but smile upon the words he muttered into my ear. "Me neither," I whispered back.

Although what I said was quite true, and I had no doubt that what he was saying was true, too, there was a weirdness between us. It was strange to feel him in such close proximity and to not want to slap him, to hear his voice and to not want to vomit. But it was still nice to know that despite everything that had been said over the last three years, and out of the entire female population of East High, he had chosen me.

"Are they watching?"

I snuck a glance over to the cafeteria tables from our place in the lunch line. I saw his friends, surrounded by cheerleaders with a few of the guys tossing a basketball around. But despite their best efforts to act nonchalant, I could see the looks of curiosity they were sending us, particularly Chad Danforth. I then glanced over to my friends and sent them a wave. My friends didn't even have the decency to act casual. They were staring and scrutinising everything we did, particularly Sharpay Evans.

"Of course," I mumbled, turning back to the freshman's back in front of me as the queue moved forwards and I was finally able to reach forward for a tray. I wanted to pass one to him, not only because he was the guy I was going on a date with, but because I usually did it, no matter who was behind me in the lunch line. Except, of course, I hadn't once passed a tray to him prior to the change in our relationship. However, I resisted the urge to pass him a tray now, knowing that it would drive our friends insane.

"Act natural," he said quietly as I reached for a bottle of water from the refrigerated drinks.

"Ready to give them what they want?" I muttered.

"Ready when you are."

"Do you really have to check each carton of milk, Bolton?" I yelled.

He overdramatized the roll of his eyes. "Calm down Montez, its cartons of milk. You never choose the milk so I don't know what the problem is."

I turned to him, sending him a glare I had perfected over the last three years. "The problem is that you've just mauled all of the milk cartons, probably contaminating them with some fatal disease or something."

"Oh, real mature," he snarled. "Why don't you go back to your lab and rediscover gravity. Having an apple fall onto your head might knock some manners into you."

"Only when you crawl back into your cave with your Neanderthal buddies and discover your manners," I spat.

"Maybe I will," he hissed.

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"What is going on here?" Ms Darbus asked in her shrill voice.

I sighed, although this was not part of the act. Troy and I had spent many a time in detention due to us fighting and Ms Darbus finding it 'harmful to the theatre', whatever that meant. And I wasn't thrilled at possibly getting detention over an act, just so that our friends didn't know we were going on a date.

"Ask her, she's the one who overreacted," Troy muttered.

"Oh, please, you're just an egotistical Neanderthal who thinks every single milk carton is his," I snapped back.

"Well, that clears things up," Ms Darbus muttered. "Are you two going to find an end to this before graduation?"

"Only if she stops acting like a know-it-all," he demanded.

"I don't act like a know-it-all," I exclaimed.

"Well, that's lovely. You can join me in detention," Ms Darbus said, as if she was inviting us for Sunday dinner.

As she walked away, Troy muttered, "Good job. The Neanderthal comments were a nice touch."

"Same to you for the know-it-all comment," I muttered. "I'll see you in detention."

Once I'd paid for my lunch, I sauntered over to my friend and slammed my tray down. "Ugh," I exclaimed.

Sharpay frowned and examined her manicure. "What was that about?"

"That asshole was mauling all the milk cartons and I could feel his breath on his neck and I don't know how I'm going to keep this lunch down," I explained, staring at the tray in front of me.

"Gabs, you can't keep getting detention because of those tribal zoo animals. You keep missing scholastic decathlon meetings," Taylor protested.

"I always catch up," I muttered. I looked over my shoulder to look at the jock table where Troy was laughing at something Chad said.

"Just think, a few more months and you can leave those assholes behind," Ryan, Sharpay's brother, commented.

* * *

"Can I trust you to not to kill each other while you paint this set?" Ms Darbus asked, gesturing to the wooden tree in front of Troy and I.

"I can't make any promises," I muttered, folding my arms.

Ms Darbus rolled her eyes and moved to another part of the stage towards some other props that were being painted by other students in detention.

Troy immediately climbed up to sit within the wooden branches to staple on the leaves. I grabbed a paintbrush and started painting the trunk. "So," I began quietly. "What's the plan for tonight?"

Troy smiled down at me. "Well, I thought I'd pick you up at six thirty and we'll go back to my place and I'll cook you dinner."

I frowned. "Really? I thought we'd be going to some restaurant or a movie or something."

He shrugged, stapling a leaf to the far end of one of the branches. He had to stretch and his shirt rose up slightly, letting me see a few of his stomach muscles and the top of his boxers. "I thought it would be in everyone's best interest if we had some privacy for a while."

"So, we're not going to tell anyone we're dating?" I asked quietly, cocking my head to the side.

He quirked an eyebrow. "I just assumed that it was best that no one saw us together."

"Are you ashamed of me?" I whispered.

"What? No. Of course not. But-"

"But you don't want to be seen with the freaky genius girl, right?" I said quietly.

Troy jumped down from the tree and shook his head. "That is not what I meant and you know it!"

"Then what did you mean?" I demanded.

"I meant that our friends would go ballistic if they found out. You know how they are about our two groups. I thought that's the whole point of us not telling them about tonight," he exclaimed.

"I thought it was just until we figured if this would work or not. I can't believe that what people think is that important to you," I cried.

"Ella, calm down. You're just scared. That's not what I was talking about," he insisted.

"It's exactly what you were talking about. If I was a cheerleader, you would quite happily book a table for us at a fancy restaurant, wouldn't you? But it's okay because we could go on a date in a cave, or maybe a deserted parking lot, or, and this is my personal favourite, the bottom of the fucking ocean. Go to hell, Troy," I yelled before I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the auditorium towards the classroom where the scholastic decathlon meetings were held.

I opened the door and rolled my eyes when everyone turned to look at me. "It's only me, calm down."

I sighed and sat down at one of the desks. I heard Taylor explain some equation or another but all I could think about was Troy, about how stupid I'd been. Some people called me the 'freaky genius girl'. But I didn't feel all that smart in that moment. I should've known that nothing had changed between Troy and I. He was still the womanizing jock that I'd been constantly furious with for three years.

The door slammed open and I didn't even bother turning around. I already knew who it was.

"What the hell was that?"

I stood up and marched over to him. "I said what I had to say."

"No. It's not over. You need to listen to me-"

"-because you listen to everything I say, don't you?"

"Stop interrupting," he yelled.

After a moment, I finally said, "Get out. You can't be here. This is the one place where I don't have to deal with you. I don't come into your precious basketball practices and start yelling at you."

"Don't do this, you've got everything wrong and you know it," he exclaimed.

"Get out," I muttered.

Troy glanced at the members of the scholastic decathlon team and raised a hand. "Sorry for disturbing you." He turned back to me. "This isn't over."

Once he'd left, I just stood in the same spot, staring at where he'd been stood. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, Taylor."

"What was that about?" she asked.

"He's getting inside my head and I don't like it," I cried, feeling rather pathetic in that moment.

She smiled sympathetically. "Come on, maybe some academia will take your mind off things."

* * *

_On my first day of my freshman year, something hit me on the back of my head before I'd even got over the threshold of East High's front door. I turned around, watching as a basketball began rolling away from my feet. "Who threw that?" Perhaps not wise to yell at the entire hallway on my first day, but I was officially in high school and I wasn't going to let anyone spoil it for me._

_I watched as Troy bent down to pick his basketball up. "Nice glasses," he complimented sarcastically as he approached with Chad, the basketball resting on his hip._

"_Was it you?" I didn't recognise him or Chad, and I figured that they'd evidently gone to a different middle school than me. "Did you hit me in the head with that basketball?"_

_I could feel a crowd starting to form, with people staring and whispering but I didn't really care about that. I cared that some dumb jock was ruining my first day. "What if I did? What are you going to do? Force me to do math?" He and Chad snickered._

"_Who the hell do you think you are? You did it on purpose, didn't you?" I yelled._

"_Whoa, chillax, Einstein," Troy exclaimed, holding his hands up._

"_Why are you being so obnoxious? You don't even know me," I hissed._

"_Wait, what's your IQ?" he asked._

"_Um, 132," I replied, unsure why he wanted to know._

"_Great. Well, that means that you and your little brainiac friends," he pointed over my shoulder at Taylor, Martha, Kelsi, Sharpay and Ryan, "should be able to figure out the answers to your questions all on your own."_

"_What is your problem?" I exclaimed._

"_What is going on here?" a voice roared. Troy and I turned to find Ms Darbus, someone we would spend rather a lot of time with in detention. The crowd hurriedly dispersed, heading to lockers, friends and homeroom classes._

"_He's a jerk," I spat, folding my arms._

"_Principal's office. Now," she said sternly, glaring at us over the top of her glasses._

"_What?" Troy and I exclaimed. We glared at each other. "This is your fault," we said simultaneously._

_Ms Darbus pushed us towards Mr Matsui's office and he looked less than thrilled to have been troubled on the very first day of the year. "What happened?"_

"_Well, he threw a basketball at my head-"_

"_She's walking around like she owns the place-"_

"_-and he hasn't even apologised-"_

"_-and she's been here five minutes-"_

"_-and I don't know why he did it."_

"_-and she's just a bratty know-it-all." Troy paused after hearing how I'd ended my rant. "Wow. You don't know something?"_

"_Troy," Mr Matsui scolded. "This is the first day and I have to deal with you two, who are, by the way, two of our most promising students in your fields. Troy, you just spent the summer playing basketball with the Redhawks at U of A, didn't you? Your father told me."_

_Troy glanced at me but slouched in his chair. "Yeah."_

_I cringed, even before Mr Matsui had opened his mouth. "And Gabriella, you spent your summer at Cambridge University, didn't you?"_

"_Yeah," I muttered._

"_Wow. You're even a brainiac by England's standards," Troy laughed._

_I reached over and punched him in the arm. "Shut up. At least it was more productive than flinging balls around in baggy shorts, hoping for a touchdown."_

"_Baskets. It's baskets in basketball. Who knew? The She-Einstein doesn't know something," he mocked._

"_Detention," Mr Matsui barked._

_We both fell silent. "Sir," I began, "I can't have detention. Stanford won't even acknowledge me with a single detention on my records."_

"_And my dad would kill me if I got detention on my first day," Troy protested._

_Mr Matsui sighed and glanced at Ms Darbus who was standing by the door. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his desk. "Listen, you are two of our most promising students. I have no doubt that you're both going to go on to do great things after graduation."_

_Troy and I glanced at each other. "But-"_

_He held a hand up, cutting me off. "Thank you Miss Montez. Now, I'm happy for detention to not go on your permanent record. But you have to work this thing out. Otherwise, it'll be a long four years for everybody."_

* * *

"Aren't you going out tonight, _mi hija_?" my mom, Maria, asked from her armchair in the corner.

I didn't even look up from my book. "No."

"Well, personally, I'm glad," my dad, Greg, muttered from the other end of the couch.

I sighed. "Dad, you'd be glad if I didn't go out with any guy at all."

"Yeah, but you and that Troy had so much history, it would never have ended well," Greg ranted.

"Gee, that makes me feel better," I muttered.

Maria sat between Greg and me and stroked my hair, like she did when I was ill. "What happened?"

I rubbed my eyes. I had taken my contacts out now that I was home and was instead wearing my glasses. "I thought he actually wanted me. But I was wrong. He just cares about his precious reputation."

Maria hugged me. "I'm sorry, _mi hija_. Men are jerks."

"Hey," Greg protested.

Maria turned to him. "But you're my jerk."

Greg seemed satisfied and kissed her.

"I know you're trying to help but you're really making me feel like throwing up," I muttered.

Before anyone could say anything else, the doorbell rang and Maria rose to answer the door.

I could hear his voice from the living room. "Hi, Mrs Montez. I'm Troy Bolton."

"Oh, hi Troy," Maria said with realisation.

"Is Gabriella here?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Maria said quietly.

Sighing, I put my book on the coffee table and stood up, heading for the door. I was wearing my glasses, sweats and my hair was a mess. But I was past caring. "It's okay, Mom."

She frowned at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "This won't take long." I stepped outside with Troy and she shut the door, although I knew she'd be watching from the living room window. I sat down on the bench that was on our front porch and folded my arms, looking out at the other houses, anything to save me from looking at Troy. "You have two minutes," I muttered.

I saw Troy nod from the corner of my eye. "I guess I deserve that. I just want to apologise. Whatever you read into what I said is not what I meant. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"Two things: Are you saying that this is all my fault? And I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, you're the only one who's hurting me right now," I exclaimed.

"No, it's not your fault, it's mine. Because no matter what you thought I meant, I shouldn't have said it anyway. That act we pulled at lunch, it was painful for me because all I wanted to do was kiss you. I want everyone to know that we're together," I explained.

I lifted my head, frowning.

"I mean, were together," he countered. "I just don't want our friends being on our case."

"It's got nothing to do with them," I whispered. "They can think whatever the hell they like. I don't care."

"I know. I just don't want to share you," he murmured.

I bowed my head. "I think you should go. It's been more than two minutes."

"Tell me how to make it up to you," he pleaded.

I stood up and shrugged. "Dress up as a cheerleader and sing about it all at lunch tomorrow. I don't know." I sighed. "Just go."

Troy nodded and stepped forward. He moved slowly and I knew he was giving me a chance to push him away. Instead, I let him hold my head and lean in to kiss my cheek. "I'm so sorry, Ella. I'll make it up to you." I watched him walk down the front porch steps, go down the garden path and then climb into his beat up truck and drive away.

* * *

_I opened my locker only to find a folded piece of paper fall at my feet. I placed my books on the top shelf and bent down to pick the paper up. Although I was ashamed to admit it, I recognised it as a note from Troy. I was able to spot his scrawl a mile away._

**Montez,  
Congratulations on winning the Scholastic Decathlon.  
Good luck at Stanford.  
Troy**

_What the actual hell? His only acceptable use of the words 'Scholastic Decathlon' was to tease me about being the captain. And he'd never acknowledged my dream of going to Stanford University before. He must be playing mind games. It's the only logical explanation. He wants to ruin my senior year. That's it._

_I slammed my locker and, momentarily forgetting that I had a scholastic decathlon meeting, headed towards the gym. I didn't really think it through but I pushed the door of the boys' locker room open and marched inside, ignoring the wolf whistles from the half naked guys. I spotted Troy sat on one of the benches in just his basketball shorts and sauntered over to him._

"_What the hell, Bolton?" I yelled._

_He looked up at me, rolling his eyes. "What did I do now?"_

"_You tell me," I said in disbelief._

"_Get out of here, Montez. We have a practice in five minutes," Chad said._

"_Don't you get involved," I yelled, pointing a finger at him. The guys must've sensed I was serious because they all fell silent and turned back to what they were doing before._

"_I don't know what you want me to say," he exclaimed as he got to his feet, towering over me._

"_I want you to explain what the hell you were thinking," I hissed._

"_What is going on here?" a voice shouted._

_I turned around and sighed. "Sorry, Coach Bolton. It's your son."_

"_I haven't done anything," he said._

_I slapped the note onto his bare and _very_ muscular chest. "You call this nothing?"_

"_Montez, Bolton, my office, now," Coach Bolton demanded. He was much too used to this situation and allowed us inside first and shut the door behind him. He sat down behind his desk and although Troy sat down, I paced up and down behind him. "Okay, Gabriella, what's happened now?"_

"_It's your son. He's playing with my mind," I exclaimed._

"_I didn't do anything," Troy mumbled._

"_He wrote a note, congratulating me on winning the Scholastic Decathlon. He's never once complimented me on my achievements. I want to know why he did it," I cried._

"_Troy?" Coach Bolton asked. "Why did you write the note?"_

_Troy shrugged. "From the sounds of the match or game or whatever it is, it sounded like it was close between the Wildcats and the Knights. I figured it must've been hard."_

"_But why?" I demanded. "You've never once acknowledged our victory. The only one that matters around here is yours. Why?"_

_He got to his feet and glared. "Because I want to go out with you."_

_I just stared at him for a moment, breathing heavily. Out of all the things I expected him to say, and part of me wanted him to have said _anything_ other than those words, I didn't expect him to say that. "What did you just say?"_

_He shrugged. "I want to go on a date with you," he said quietly._

"_Why?" I asked._

_He gave me a look of exasperation. "Why do you have to question everything?"_

"_Troy," Coach Bolton warned._

_I took a deep breath. "Why do you want to go out with me?"_

_He shrugged. "You make me feel good. You're the only person on campus who doesn't care that I'm basketball captain and even though you are a bit of a know-it-all, it feels good when you feel like you can yell at me." A rather unmanly blush graced his cheeks. "Besides, even with your glasses, you're still by far the most beautiful girl at East High."_

_I couldn't quite fathom if he was being serious or not. But, he wasn't smirking like he usually was when he was winding me up. Besides, he'd just asked me out in front of his dad. If he was winding me up, I don't think he'd be brave enough to pull a stunt like that in front of his father._

_I shook my head and started pacing again. "You can't just go three years yelling at someone and then ask her out. I need to get to the scholastic decathlon meeting and you've got practice." I had my hand on the handle but turned around, staring at a shirtless Troy. Before I could think it through, I said, "Yes."_

_He frowned. "What?"_

_I glanced at my feet before looking back at him. I shrugged. "Yes, I will go out with you."_

* * *

The following day at lunch, I entered the cafeteria and immediately headed over to my friends. "Aren't you eating?" Kelsi asked.

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry. I feel quite sick, actually."

Taylor frowned. "Are you okay?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

The whole morning had been hell. Troy wouldn't leave me alone. He would try and talk to me at my locker, between classes, and he was even passing notes to me in class. He was driving me insane. I just needed to be away from him for a while and figure things out.

"Is this to do with Troy?" Ryan asked.

I couldn't help but notice the way they all looked at each other. "Why would it have something to do with him?"

"Well for one thing," Taylor began, "you seemed really upset when he burst into our meeting yesterday."

"And for another thing, you and Troy were on a date last night," Sharpay said, sending me a glare.

"What would make you think that?" I asked, shifting my gaze to my hands.

"Chad texted that to me yesterday," she said, handing her phone over to me. I felt my heart sink when I saw a picture of Troy kissing my cheek.

I handed it back to her. "Why was Chad texting you?"

"If you must know, he was warning me that our friends seem to have lied to us. But focus, Gabriella. Why were you on a date with him?" she demanded.

"We weren't on a date," I whispered. I know it looked bad and I know I had lied to them about going on a date but we weren't technically on a date when Chad took that photo.

"But why would you let that animal touch you?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

"I know it looks bad but we were most definitely not on a date. I can promise you that," I murmured, not meeting any of their eyes.

"Gabi," Kelsi said softly, reaching for my hand, "what happened?"

I looked over my shoulder to where the jock table was, although there was no sign of Troy. I turned back to my friends and shrugged. "People like Troy Bolton are genetically programmed to be assholes."

Sharpay quirked her eyebrow. "Spill."

I sighed, sitting up straighter. "Don't hate me. Troy asked me out last week."

"Are you kidding me?" Sharpay demanded.

I shook my head. "And I said yes."

"Why would you do a stupid thing like that?" Sharpay demanded.

"Shar," Kelsi scolded. "Gabi's upset. What happened?"

I shrugged. "We were in detention and I asked where we were going and he implied that he didn't want to be seen with me. And maybe I was reading too much into it but I can't help but think that that's what he meant anyway."

Sharpay took a deep breath. "I still don't understand why you said yes. You can't be in the same room without almost killing each other."

I shrugged. "He makes me feel good. People always expect so much of me, being the resident freaky genius girl. He just makes me feel normal. Like I'm not some freaky genius, like I'm not a big deal. And it feels good." I took my glasses off, being way past caring to bother putting my contacts in, and rubbed my eyes. "He was apologising last night. But it didn't matter. I was stupid to ever think he would want me."

Sharpay sighed and came around the table to give me a hug. "I'm sorry for yelling. I just know that this school would go insane if you two got together. Maybe it was for the best."

"It doesn't stop it hurting," I muttered, burying my face in my hands.

"I know, I know," she whispered. "But you're going to go to Stanford. You're going to meet an amazing guy who is going to love you for exactly who you are."

"Gabriella," a voice whispered from behind me.

Sharpay stood up to face Troy. "You've got a nerve, Bolton."

"I just want to talk," he whispered, ignoring Sharpay.

I put my glasses on and turned around to find Troy standing there in a long trench coat that was buttoned up. "What the hell are you wearing?"

He shrugged. "We need to talk."

I turned back to the table. "I'm not interested."

"Ella, please," he exclaimed.

"Don't call me that," I yelled, turning to look up at him. "Just leave me alone."

He looked me in the eyes and nodded. "Fine." I watched him walk away towards his friends. But instead of sitting down like I expected him to, he stood up on the table. His friends didn't seem that happy but they passed him a microphone on a stand. "Is this thing working?" His voice echoed throughout the entire cafeteria, gaining everyone's attention. Everyone stopped eating and talking and just stared at him.

"Good," he murmured and smiled nervously. "Now that everyone's listening, I have something to say." Before he said anything else, he unbuttoned his trench coat to reveal an East High cheerleader uniform underneath. Everyone immediately started whispering and taking pictures with their cell phones.

"What's going on, Gabi?" Taylor asked.

I didn't even dignify her with a response. I just started up at Troy as Chad, displeased as he was, handed his friend a guitar.

"No, this isn't a dare or a bet," Troy began. "This is, well it's an apology. I hurt someone, someone you all know and love. Gabriella Montez."

Obviously, people began staring at me and I usually felt nervous when people stared at me. But I didn't care because all I could do was stare at Troy, challenging him, seeing if he'd actually go through with it.

"You told me to sing. So here it goes," he muttered as he began strumming the guitar.

_It's all about you,  
It's all about you, Ella,  
It's all about you,  
It's all about you._

_Last week, I asked you to go on a date with me,  
So you yelled and paced the floor, and listened to my plea.  
Then you surprised me by saying you would go on this date,  
So, you gave me a smile and said 'Don't be late.'_

Despite my best efforts to hide them, I couldn't help the tears rolling down my cheeks. It was no secret that I was a fan of McFly, a British boy band I had discovered while at Cambridge in England. They weren't too famous in the states but they were recognised. And this was my favourite song. It was the song I wanted to dance to at my wedding, the song I'd wanted to be sung by a guy to me. And here was a guy singing it to me, having changed the words to work with our situation. And I hadn't even told him that I liked this particular song. He must've just guessed.

Troy wasn't the best singer in the world. In fact, I made a mental note to tell him that a career on Broadway was unacceptable. But despite this, it was the sweetest and cheesiest thing anybody had ever done for me.

_And I turned into a jerk and I really let you down,  
But please me believe me when I say that I really miss you now.  
So here I am wearing a skirt, an apology,  
A second chance is all I need to make it up to you_

"Okay Ella," Troy spoke into the microphone, "That last one didn't rhyme. But it's true. Every word."

As Troy continued playing the intricate guitar solo, Kelsi asked, "What are you going to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

But deep down, I did know. I knew what I would do the second he stood up on that table. Because where Troy's concerned, I don't have much willpower. I guess that's why I always ended up yelling at him. Around him, I didn't have a voice in my head, telling me to just walk away. And considering he was dressed as a cheerleader, singing a song to me, I didn't think he had much willpower with me, either.

_And I would answer all your wishes, if you asked me to,  
But if you don't let me go on a date with you, don't know what I'd do.  
So please say 'yes', I'll say three words, I really want to,  
Dancing on cafeteria tiles,  
Yes, you make my life worthwhile,  
And I'll tell you with a smile..._

_It's all about you  
It's all about you, Ella,  
It's all about you,  
It's all about you._

He let the last chord ring out and stared at me. He shrugged. "I'm sorry. I want to be with you and I don't care who knows. Listen up, East High," he addressed the whole cafeteria, "I want to be this Gabriella's boyfriend," he pointed at me, "because I think I'm in love with her." He turned back to me. "Please, Ella."

I stood up and walked closer to the table, looking up at him. I could hear the whispering behind me but I didn't care. "You really thought that dressing up as a cheerleader and singing my favourite song would get me to forgive you?"

He shrugged. "I thought it might," he whispered.

I let a smile spread across my face and a few more tears fall. "Well, you'd be right."

Troy laughed as he jumped down from the table and all but threw his guitar in Chad's direction. "Do you mean that?"

"As long as you meant those words," I murmured.

He grinned and wrapped his arms around me to lift me up and spin me around. I could hear cheering but sensed that our friends weren't too thrilled. But despite that, I didn't really care about anything other than Troy. He put me down on the floor and took my hand. "Come with me, I have a surprise for you."

"Okay," I said as I allowed Troy to pull me up the stairs to the balcony of the cafeteria where the table in the centre, overlooking the entire cafeteria, was laid with a white table cloth and two red trays of cafeteria chilli cheese fries. "So, you knew I'd say yes?"

Troy laughed as we both sat down, our backs to the rest of the cafeteria where our friends were. "I hoped you would."

"Wow. I didn't think you could pull it off but I'm very impressed," I complimented. I hesitated for only a moment before I leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"Well, I'm glad it worked." He shrugged. "Dig in."

I reached for my water bottle. "Are they watching?"

Troy looked over his shoulder. "Oh yeah. I think Sharpay is on the verge of killing Chad."

I laughed, tucking into the chilli cheese fries. "Sounds about right." I looked across at Troy, still dressed in the cheerleading uniform. "I have to say: this is the first time I've had lunch with a cheerleader."

He laughed. "Well, it'll probably be the last. I'm never wearing this again. It's so uncomfortable." He wriggled in his seat, tugging at the skirt.

"You have no idea how grateful I am that you find skirts uncomfortable," I laughed.

He smiled sarcastically but held his milk carton towards me. "Here's to us and a first date where everyone knows about us."

I lifted my water bottle, touching it to his milk carton. "Here's to us and a first date where everyone knows about us."

We ate quietly for a while. "You're okay with this?"

He frowned. "Ella, I meant every single one of those words. I don't care what people think and I know you don't. This doesn't involve anybody else. It's just us. And we'll be okay, even when we go to college."

I could feel tears welling in my eyes again. "You mean that?"

He shrugged. "Everyone keeps badgering on to me about college about where to go and what to study and, well, I don't know. All I know is that I can't imagine going four years without you yelling at me."

I laughed. "That's sweet."

"And I know that you're going to Stanford-"

"I haven't got in yet," I protested.

He rolled his eyes. "You're going to get in. But, I know that that's where you're going to be. But wherever I go, even if it's all the way in New York, I want to be with you. You've been such a huge, frustrating part of my life that I don't want to be without you."

"I think that's a compliment," I said slowly.

He chuckled and reached for my hand. "It is. I know this is pretty intense for a first date, but we've had about three years of foreplay."

I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm. "Despite the disgusting way you worded that, I know what you mean. I'm scared of this year. But despite everything we've said and done over the past three years, this feels right."

He smiled and nodded. "Exactly." He brushed his fingers over my cheek. "You know, you're really beautiful when you wear your glasses, right?"

"Shut up," I muttered, feeling a blush rise up my neck.

"I mean it. You don't need those contacts."

I smiled. "Thanks. But I'll probably still wear them. They don't slide down my nose or get smudged or anything."

He laughed. "I know. I just want you to know that I like it when you wear your glasses."

I paused, pushing some fries around my tray. "Why did you pick that song?"

He shrugged. "Despite what we've said to each other, I've learnt things about you. I knew it was your favourite song and even thought I changed the lyrics, the meaning of the song is the same: it's all about you."

I kissed his cheek again. "Thanks. That means an awful lot. Not just what you did today, but that you knew that."

He shrugged. "I'm a man of many talents. Are you finished? I have something to show you."

"Something else? Troy, I forgive you, it's okay," I murmured.

He sighed. "I know. But I think you'll like it."

We discarded our trays before heading downstairs to our friends. "Hey, guys," I began.

Troy's and my friends stared at us. Chad nodded at us. "You're making it official now, then?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah."

Chad shrugged, turning back to his food. "While I don't really agree on the girl of choice, I admire your guts. She must be special."

I blushed when Troy wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Of course she is. I don't dress up as a cheerleader for just any girl."

"Once again," I began, "you have no idea how grateful I am to hear you say that."

Troy winked down at me.

"Well," Sharpay began, "I have to agree with Danforth. I don't really see the appeal of jocks, what with sweat and low IQs, but I'm happy for you, Gabriella."

I smiled. "That means a lot. Just try not to kill each other while we're not around."

Taylor frowned as Chad emptied his tray of fries into his mouth. "I make no promises."

"Well, I have something else for Ella so we'll see you around," Troy said, sending our friends one final smile before he pulled me out of the cafeteria. "How much do you want to bet that they'll work things out and get together?"

I shrugged. "I'm not a fan of bets but I do think that it'll happen. I saw the way Shar was looking at Zeke."

"He pines after her like a puppy," he muttered.

"Really?"

He shrugged. "Anyway," he gestured to a yellow door next to a row of lockers.

"What's this?"

"Just go," he whispered.

He held the door open and I stepped inside, heading up the stairs. I stepped out into the crisp Albuquerque air, underneath a gazebo that was surrounded flowers and other plants. The whole thing took my breath away. "Wow." I stepped closer to the railing, looking out at the Albuquerque landscape.

"I told you you'd like it," he muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I should listen to you more."

He laughed but it trailed off. "Ella?"

I turned to him. "What?"

He frowned. "I meant what I said in there. All of it."

"I know," I whispered.

"I love you," he murmured, brushing some bangs behind my ear. "And that's a really big deal because I've never said that to a girl before. At least, not how I mean it with you."

"Really?"

He shrugged.

"I thought you hated me," I mumbled, looking down at our interlocked hands.

"I think part of me thought I hated you, too. But I realised that I was going out with girls who were only interested in which parties I was going to. And I like the fact that with you, you don't care about that. And I looked at you one day, in the middle of a fight about something or other, and I just knew that you were her, the girl I'm in love with," he explained.

I smiled. "Well, I'm not terribly experienced with relationships but I think I've been fighting feelings for you for a long time. What you said yesterday is true: I was scared. I was terrified because I thought I knew how I felt about you. I thought I hated you. But when you asked me out, it became very real, very fast and I kind of blamed you for things that didn't matter, instead of admitting that I was afraid of you and the way you make me feel."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have said those things, period," Troy said softly.

I shook my head. "No. It's all my fault because you scare me a lot. And I'm sorry for blaming you for that stuff. But what you did today, you pushed me over the edge. And now, I know that I've fallen in love with a guy who is currently wearing a cheerleader uniform. And even though you scare the shit out of me, I've never felt happier."

He laughed, resting his forehead on mine. "You scare me, too. But, I am not, in the slightest, ashamed of you. I just brought you up here to give you something that I didn't want other people to see."

I shrugged. "What is it?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned in to kiss me. It was soft and slow and I wrapped my arms around his neck. It wasn't anything like I'd imagined his kisses would be. I thought they'd be harsh, demanding and lustful. But they were better than that. It was hesitant, as if he was unsure where my boundaries were, and even though his hands were resting lightly on the small of my back, his touch sent a fire through my veins. It was wonderful.

He pulled back and smiled. "How was this for a first date?"

I giggled. "Amazing. But, you know, you have to top this for our second."

He groaned. "How am I going to top this?"

I shrugged. "You're a man of many talents, remember? I'm sure you'll think of something. By the way, don't take up a career on Broadway."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"You're a terrible singer!"

He gaped at me. "Hey, without my singing, we wouldn't be here."

"I know and it was sweet. Just don't do it again," I exclaimed.

He sighed, tightening his arms around my waist. "Just kiss me."

"Hmmm, do I spy a way to shut you up?" I teased, tugging at the hairs at the base of his neck.

He laughed. "Never."

And he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my lips.


End file.
